China warns its citizens to beware of ‘entrapment’ by US police

China issued an unusual warning to its citizens travelling to the US to beware of “entrapment” by American police, in a fresh show of continuing bilateral tensions despite a recent step-up in engagement.

“Chinese nationals who travel to the US should be more vigilant, and beware of falling into US snares and arrest-entrapment,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing said on Monday in a security advisory posted on the official WeChat account run by its Department of Consular Affairs.

While Beijing has regularly reminded its citizens of gun and racial violence in the US, it is rare to explicitly point out the danger of arbitrary detention. China itself has frequently been charged of such detentions of its own people. It’s also faced accusations of running extraterritorial police operations to go after Chinese individuals – something the government denies.

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Yellen hails ‘step forward’ in US-China ties despite national security concerns

Yellen hails ‘step forward’ in US-China ties despite national security concerns

Monday’s warning comes on the heels of a high-profile trip to Beijing by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the second Biden administration cabinet member to visit in recent weeks after Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Yellen declared ties between the world’s two largest economies were closer to a “surer footing.”

One area where the US has called for further Chinese efforts is curbing trade in illicit synthetic drugs, to help confront the fentanyl crisis. China’s statement on Monday alluded to disagreements in that regard.

The statement cited arbitrary US arrests and the cross-border abduction of Chinese citizens, characterising the actions as based on fentanyl issues.

Last month, the Justice Department announced the arrest of two individuals and the unsealing of three indictments charging China-based companies and their employees with fentanyl-related crimes.